New Research Study Reveals Americans are Having Less Sex

Brooke Wells is an associate professor of human sexuality.

Despite living in a culture that has evolved to a point where sex is openly discussed
and accepted in many forms, Americans are having sex less frequently than they were
25 years ago, according to a new study released today.

The decrease is due to two primary factors: an increasing number of individuals without
steady or marital partners, and a decline in sexual frequency among those with partners,
according to the study.

“These data speak to the shifting nature of sex and relationships and provide further
evidence that young adults today are not hooking up as often as media representations
would lead us to believe ,” said Associate Professor Brooke Wells, of the Center for Human Sexuality Studies at Widener University in Chester, Pa. The center houses one of the only doctoral
programs in human sexuality studies at a fully-accredited university in the United
States.

Wells worked in coordination with Jean M. Twenge of San Diego State University and
Ryne A. Sherman of Florida Atlantic University in analyzing data from the General
Social Survey, a nationally representative survey of more than 30,000 U.S. adults
that gathered information about how often people have sex. They published their findings
today in the Archives of Sexual Behavior. It marked the fourth sex-related study they
have published together since 2015.

Fewer Americans are in partnerships now than in the recent past. Those between the
ages of 18 and 29 who are not living with a partner has increased from 48 percent
in 2005 to 64 percent in 2014. “While previous research has consistently indicated
that partnered people have sex more frequently than single people, the partnership
advantage seems to be shrinking,” Wells said.

In addition, the study shows average American adults had sex about 64 times a year
in 2002, but the activity had dropped to 53 times a year by 2014. It revealed sexual
frequency declined among people who are married or living together, but stayed steady
among those without partners. The decline was largest among white people, married
people, those in their 50s, those with a college degree, those with children between
ages 6 and 12 at home, and those who had not seen a pornographic movie in the last year. The largest declines were among the highly
educated and those who are married or living together.

“Surprisingly, work hours did not explain the decline. In fact, those who worked more
hours actually reported more frequent sex. However, the study did not examine time
spent connected to work outside of work hours, or screen time, both of which may negatively
impact sexual frequency,” Wells said.

Finally, the study found the decline was not linked to increased pornography use,
and age had a strong effect on sexual frequency. For example, Americans in their 20s
had sex an average of about 80 times per year, compared to about 20 times per year
for those in their 60s.

The findings come at a time in American culture when people are much more likely to
approve of premarital sex and sex between two same-sex adults – findings from 2015
and 2016 studies Wells published with Twenge and Sherman. They also come as young
people are regularly accessing sexual information online, and pornography use has
become more commonplace and accepted, according to the study.

Wells said the study is important as it promotes increased understanding of temporal
and generational changes in sexual behavior and relationships, and it can help inform
educational and therapeutic efforts to address a range of sexual behaviors and associated
factors, such as happiness and relationship satisfaction.

Widener University is a private, metropolitan university that connects curricula to
social issues through civic engagement. Dynamic teaching, active scholarship, personal
attention, leadership development and experiential learning are key components of
the Widener experience. A comprehensive doctorate-granting university, Widener comprises
eight schools and colleges that offer liberal arts and sciences, professional and
pre-professional curricula leading to associate, baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral
degrees. Visit the university website, http://www.widener.edu/